NEWS

July 30, 2004

RSU Center
Provides Business Connections
To Spark Economic Growth

In today's business world,
the term "networking" brings to mind the complex systems that keep connected
computer systems up and running. However, it was the old-fashioned kind of
networking – the face-to-face communication variety – that was responsible for
turning a product idea into reality and, in the process, creating economic
growth for Oklahoma.

When Oklahoma City
businessman John Gossett purchased the rights to produce and market SafeLoad
ramps – a pickup truck ramp designed to assist in loading ATVs, golf carts and
other equipment – he was insistent that his product would be made in Oklahoma.
The desire to manufacture their ramps in Oklahoma was a practical one: not only
would having a local manufacturer provide jobs for the state's economy, but it
would also shave several months from the time needed to bring the project to
market.

The problem? Gossett
couldn't find an Oklahoma shop that could take on the project. He began working
with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce's international division to find a
manufacturer in Mexico to produce the ramp when the "old-fashioned" networking
began to intervene here in Oklahoma.

Dr. Ray Brown, vice
president for the Center for Economic and Community Development at Rogers State
University, had heard about SafeLoad's need for a local manufacturer via his
connections with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. Brown and Bill Shortridge,
an Oklahoma Alliance for Manufacturing Excellence manufacturing extension agent
who is sponsored in Rogers County by RSU, immediately thought of a Catoosa
company that might be able to handle SafeLoad's needs.

The two men then met with
Roger Cordray, operations manager at Control Components Limited (CCL), who said
his company would take on the project. CCL provides job shop subcontracting work
for companies needing machining, stamping and fabrication. Brown and Shortridge
then arranged for a meeting between SafeLoad and CCL to initiate discussions
between the two companies.

After that meeting, CCL
engineers worked extensively with Gossett's company for about a year refining
the ramp's design so that it would be less expensive to manufacture and ship,
while still retaining the structural integrity that allows the 50-pound ramp to
hold more than 1,500 pounds.

Constructed of lightweight
aluminum, the SafeLoad ramp is installed in place of an existing tailgate on a
Chevrolet, Ford or Dodge full-sized pickup without modifications to the truck.
When fully extended, the ramp is about 84 inches long and creates a ramp that
allows convenient loading of equipment into the truck bed. The ramp can then be
converted into a lockable, flow-through tailgate.

The feedback from the ATV
industry regarding SafeLoad ramp has been overwhelmingly positive. A product
review from ATV Illustrated described the ramp system as "a poster boy for what
American-manufactured products should be" and called the product the "safest and
most convenient ATV loading ramps we've ever used."

"We couldn't be at the point
where we are today without the hard work that Roger and CCL put into this
product," Gossett said.

To meet SafeLoad's demands,
CCL added three employees dedicated to production, order processing and shipping
of their product line. The company can produce about 20 ramps a day per shift,
and SafeLoad has ordered more than $700,000 of the ramps during the next two
years. Cordray said he expects SafeLoad to be his fifth largest customer by the
end of 2005.

Brown said he was thrilled
to be able to assist in the link between CCL and SafeLoad because a central
purpose of RSU's Center for Economic and Community Development is to facilitate
connections within the business community.

"This was a natural
extension of our mission at the Center," Brown said. "While we are geared to
provide resources to area entrepreneurs and businesses directly, we can also
provide indirect benefits through our network of contacts."

Business and community
networking has been important to driving business growth for CCL, Cordray said.

"Without a doubt, businesses
wanting to expand should take full advantage of the connections through
available through programs such as the Center for Economic and Community
Development," he said.

For more information on the
SafeLoad ramp, visit their web site at
www.safeloadramps.com or call toll-free 877-600-7267. For more information
about CCL, call (918) 317-4116. For more information about the RSU Center for
Economic and Community Development, call (918) 343-7533.